Kwara Gov’s wife inaugurates water projects, receives N100m worth of items

Mrs Olufolake AbdulRazaq, Wife of Kwara Governor and Founder Ajike People Support Centre, on Thursday in Ilorin, inaugurated three solar-powered boreholes and received N100 million worth of food and medical materials from the Victims Support Fund.

AbdulRazaq said that the collaboration and engagements of her office and her pet project were a testimony of greater things to come.

She said that the provision of potable water and sanitation was crucial to human hygiene and socio-economic development.

“The state government has resolved to ensure that potable water supply is available to all residents, irrespective of how detached they are from city centres.

“This is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 that is encouraging all nations to ensure that there is clean water and sanitation for all,’’ AbdulRazaq said.

She urged the beneficiaries of the motorised boreholes to ensure that the facilities were protected from damage, saying that they should adhere to instructions on how best to use them for optimum benefit.

According to her, the government’s efforts may not entirely sufficient.

The governor’s wife said that the palliative distribution to families and presentation of medical equipment to the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency would go a long way in complementing the government’s efforts.

“During the lockdown, occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, my office and Ajike People’s Support Centre presented food and other palliatives to over 3,000 families across the three senatorial districts of the state.

“My office and Ajike People’s Support Center are doing their utmost best to ensure that Kwara people enjoy the best of times.

“This has made my office and the centre engages in plausible partnerships that would further benefit citizens of Kwara in the areas of empowerment through skill acquisition.

“We also advocate for the encouragement of youth entrepreneurship and leading advocacies to curb drug abuse, gender-based violence, child abuse, human trafficking and other initiatives that directly impact the people.

“Three secondary schools across the three senatorial districts of the state are beneficiaries of the borehole intervention,’’ she said.

AbdulRazaq listed the schools as Government Day Secondary School, Adeta (Kwara Central), Lade Community Secondary School, Patigi (Kwara North) and Iketa Grammar School, Osi (Kwara South).

She said that 6,000 units of re-usable branded face masks and 18,000 bottles of hand sanitisers would be shared among the schools.

“To the benefitting schools, it is our hope that these water facilities will be sustainably operated and maintained so as to provide long term service to the people living in these communities,” she said.

Earlier, a representative of VSF, Toyosi Ogunsiji, said that the organisation, with Retired Gen. Theophilos Danjuma as Chairman, was set up in 2014 for the humanitarian and charitable gestures.

It was also set up to provide succour to people in distress across the nation so as to touch every family in the state with food and medical supplies.

Ogunsiji said that the supplies were to compliment the government’s efforts and curb social vices, adding that the value of the donated items was about N100 million.

She said that Kwara was the 32^nd state to be visited since the inception of the programme while appreciating the state government for its support.

In his address, the principal of one of the benefiting schools, Government Day Secondary School, Adeta, Alhaji Yahaya Yisa, prayed for the continued progress of the sponsors and for the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration.

He appreciated the wife of the governor and the VSF for deeming it fit to give their community clean and potable water, stressing that this would provide more opportunities for the students to excel in their academic pursuits.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the food support and medical materials distributed included: 3,000 units of 10kg rice, 3,000 units of 5kg beans and 3,000 units of 7.5kg garri and 6,000 units of 1kg salt.

Others were: 3,000 units of 2.75 litres of vegetable oil, 50,000 units of surgical face masks, 290 units of Hamzat suits, 290 units of safety medical goggles and 10,000 units of latex gloves 290 units of medical safety boots.

NAN also reports that among those present at the event were the Commissioner for Social Development, Health and Communication, Alhaji Raji Rasaq, Mrs Abosede Aremu and Mr Olabode Towoju respectively.